Last Filipino boxer bids Olympics goodbye
THE only other boxer for the Philippines in the 2016 Rio Olympics has been eliminated.
Rogen Ladon was totally outclassed by Colombian Yurberjen Martinez in the Round-of-16 of the light flyweight division, beating him unanimously in all three scorecards, the other night at the Riocentro Pavilion 6. Two judges had identical scores of 29-28, while the other saw it 30-27.
The 22-year-old Ladon, a Bago City native, was very aggressive at the onset and kept charging in. Martinez, however, was very composed and forced Ladon to miss most of his shots, while landing some clean shots of his own.
The 24-year-old Martinez, who came off a onesided unanimous decision over hometown bet Patrick Lourenco in the first round, was more aggressive in the second round and landed some clean combinations.
Feeling the sense of urgency, Ladon aggressively attacked Martinez. However, Martinez was very effective on the defensive end, forcing the Filipino to miss most of his shots.
Ladon, rated No. 3 in the world, earned a ‘ bye’ in the first round. He, however, couldn’t capitalize on that and immediately dropped out in his first fight in the Olympic stage.
Charly Suarez, La- don’s only other teammate in the boxing team, was eliminated earlier, after losing to Great Britains Joseph Cordina by a close split decision in the first round last Sunday.
But the Philippines’ 20-year medal drought ended the other day after weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz took a silver medal.
The last time the Philippines won a medal in most prestigious sports meet in the world was in 1996 by boxer Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco.